Generally, the inventive techniques disclosed herein relate to a bottle for containing a fluid, such as wine, spirits, or water. In particular, the inventive techniques relate to a bottle with non-concentric body and neck portions that allow a plurality of the bottles to be stacked lengthwise more closely and more stably compared to bottles traditionally used to carry similar fluids. In addition, the inventive techniques relate to a sloping aperture that may enhance a user's control over the flow of fluids out of the bottle when a user tips the bottle to pour fluid.
Traditionally, a bottle used to contain fluids such as wine, spirits, or water has a neck portion concentric around a longitudinal axis with a body portion, and a shoulder portion that slopes towards the center of the bottle. The shape of such a bottle may prevent a plurality of such bottles from being stacked lengthwise head-to-toe such that they interlay and overlap. As a result, the shape of such a bottle may generally require a plurality of such bottles to be stacked lengthwise with their neck portions aligned in the same direction, which may generate a substantial volume of gap between a plurality of such bottles. Such a volume of gaps may require substantial capacity in shipping containers carrying such bottles. This, in turn, may lead to substantial cost and pre-consumption and post-consumption waste.
Therefore, it may be useful to provide a bottle apparatus that may reduce the volume of the gaps between the bottles when they are stacked lengthwise. For example, it may be useful to provide a bottle apparatus that has a shape that may allow a plurality of bottles to be stacked lengthwise head-to-toe such that they interlay and overlap. By interlaying and overlapping the bottles, the volume of gaps between the bottles may be reduced when the bottles are stacked lengthwise.
Further, a bottle traditionally comprises a flat aperture to allow fluids to travel in and out of the bottle.
Therefore, it may also be useful to provide a bottle apparatus that comprises a sloping aperture. A sloping aperture may reduce turbulence in the fluid flow during pouring. Thus, a sloping aperture may enhance the control that a user has over the flow of fluids when a user pours fluids out of the bottle. In addition, a sloping aperture may provide a visual cue that indicates to a user both the direction that the bottle should be poured from and the direction from which the user should hold the bottle. Sloping apertures with varied aesthetic appearances could be employed to achieve these advantages.
Additionally, a bottle traditionally used to contain fluids such as wine, spirits, or water lacks a substantially straight lateral surface that extends in substantially a single dimension for substantially the height of the bottle. Labels affixed to such a bottle are limited in their shape by the contours of the bottle. For example, it may not be possible to affix a contiguous label along substantially the height of the bottle because of the slope of the shoulder portion.
Therefore, it may additionally be useful to provide a bottle apparatus that comprises a substantially straight lateral surface that extends in substantially a single dimension for substantially the height of the bottle. A contiguous label that may have a length substantially equal to the height of the bottle may be affixed to such a lateral surface. Such a label could be used to display branding, product information, or measuring indicators (e.g., for measuring volume).